Don’t be fooled by their name, Set On End aren’t a bunch of pop-punk skater kids. Instead, the debut album from these Kiwi metallers sees the band return with new drummer Jeremy Suckling after a lengthy hiatus to serve up 10 furious chunks of technical groove metal.
Regardless of what went down in the interim, there’s a sense of vigour at work here. Iconoclast sees vocalist Jesse Cleaver raging over breathless guitar exchanges by guitarists Matt Borsos and Gerry Gunn and a blistering Cimmerian Shade takes its cues from Periphery. But it’s highlights Dissent and Claw At The Throne that make the biggest impression, melding djent-tinged riffs and dizzying polyrhythmic pummelling with piledriving grooves and memorable choruses. After a seven-year break, Set On End have found themselves to be a newly fresh and exciting prospect.
